How to Make Your Own Woodchips for Smoking

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Things You'll Need

  • Hickory, apple or maple fire wood

  • Ax

Wood chips give barbecue a unique flavor.

You can purchase woodchips for your smoker or you can make your own with suitable, available wood. This can be wood from a downed or dead tree in your yard, or wood you purchase as firewood from the local convenience store. Either way, making your own woodchips for smoking will take very little time and will save you money.

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Step 1

Place a piece of firewood upright on a hard surface. This can be a tree stump, asphalt driveway or concrete garage floor.

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Step 2

Hold the ax in one hand and the upright wood with the other hand.

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Step 3

Lift the ax and carefully begin to cut chips from the firewood. Start at the point farthest away from your hand.

Step 4

Continue to chip away at the firewood piece until it becomes too small to hold.

Step 5

Lay the remaining firewood piece on its side and chop the wood into small chips.

Tip

Ax blades are sharp. Be sure to pay attention to where the blade is falling when making wood chips for smoking.

Almost any hardwood can be used for smoking. Hickory, apple, maple and mesquite are the most popular.

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